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18 hours ago, busmansholiday said:

Spectras generally had DAF engines.

That would make sense, they're engines I'm not so familiar with so would tie in with my being unable to ID it by ear...which I'm usually pretty good at.

Well, save for the last couple of years anyway when everything has wound up sounding like exactly the same tumble drier full of ball bearings.

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On 11/15/2019 at 9:50 PM, busmansholiday said:

Spectras generally had DAF engines.

I thought they all did and the Spectra was the missing link between the Metrobus and DAF's DB250. All recognisable in that the angle drive was between engine and gearbox, not gearbox and driveshaft. Some of the loudest modern buses I've found.

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8 minutes ago, willswitchengage said:

I thought they all did and the Spectra was the missing link between the Metrobus and DAF's DB250. All recognisable in that the angle drive was between engine and gearbox, not gearbox and driveshaft. Some of the loudest modern buses I've found.

As far as I am aware the Spectra prototype was based on the Metrobus

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2 hours ago, Eyersey1234 said:

As far as I am aware the Spectra prototype was based on the Metrobus

Eeh, sort of.

Optare and DAF bought the rights to the Metrobus and Metroliner with the chassis design taken by DAF and the body design by Optare. Included in the deal was the undelivered G107FJW from the batch for West Midlands Travel (this bus was eventually sold on to Ensign and via First was exported to Sri-Lanka where it was converted to semi-auto). After it was pulled apart and rebuilt a few times, a chassis design was drawn up by DAF marrying the rear end of the Metrobus with the front end of the SB220 to come up with the DB250. The new electronically controlled 8 litre six cylinder replaced the loosely Leyland based DKL1160 in this model from the start.

The Body design, thankfully was not copied in any way (as far as I can tell) and was a clean sheet design by Optare. Knowing how MCWs can rot, thank christ for that at least.

As far as I can make out, no part of the Metroliner was used again in future construction by either party (well, not strictly true as the original double deck design was based upon the chassis design of the Hong Kong Metrobuses. The 400GT nor the partially constructed single deck designes were never used again however).

If you look under the rear end of a DB250, it is pure Metrobus, from angle drive to the H frame supporting the double reduction rear axle. That's why they sound (the early ones especially if Voith gearboxed) very much like a Metrobus - as far as driveline is concerned, they were!

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The model railway show was on in Falkirk today and there was a free bus service from Grahamston station. We use this as parking isn't great at the College and a fair walk would ensue. My dad is not very mobile at present so this is ideal.

I havent been on a Y type Leopard for years and this one made all the right noises. Unassisted steering and manual gearbox. A few times the driver came close to standy-up cab manoevering!

20191117_153057.jpg

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4 hours ago, Pillock said:

These Trippets just appeared on Facebook, apparently Loughborough based. What are they?

FB_IMG_1574670112388.jpg

They are Optare Citypacer-bodied Volkswagen LT55s, same 2.4 6-pot diesel as the lowlier LTs and the Volvo 7/940.

Leicester took 15 as their 844-858, registered D844-854 CRY, E855/6 ENR, E857/8 GNR, all with 25 dual purpose seats. I think most passed to Derby City after Leicester.

The Citypacer was a great idea executed badly but it paved the way for proper coach built "second generation" minibuses after the Freight Rover Sherpa, Ford Transit, Bedford CF and the likes of van converted Mercedes 608Ds.

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Ah, the Optare CityPacer, proper bus shite. Great looking things and the first minibuses to break away from the 'bread van' style, but pretty hopeless otherwise by all accounts. Weird high driving position (you can see the dashboard reaching more than halfway up the windscreen), gutless little non-turbo engine and some only had four-speed gearboxes with a stick that was prone to coming off in the driver's hand.

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They weren't the best... a local operator to me were still running them into the 2000s, he swore by them.

He also swore by Renault S56s and his front line coach fleet when he closed were a Plaxton Supreme V-bodied Ford R1015 and an Elme-bodied Leyland Swift so his judgement may have been somewhat off.

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On 11/25/2019 at 8:55 PM, cms206 said:

They weren't the best... a local operator to me were still running them into the 2000s, he swore by them.

He also swore by Renault S56s and his front line coach fleet when he closed were a Plaxton Supreme V-bodied Ford R1015 and an Elme-bodied Leyland Swift so his judgement may have been somewhat off.

An operator local to me was still running Plaxton Supreme bodied Fords and Duple bodied Bedfords up until 2011 when the local council lost patience and told him he had until the end of that academic year to update his fleet otherwise he could kiss goodbye to all his school runs. To be fair the maintenance was fine it was just the age of the vehicles that was the issue. 

Another local operator was also running a large number of 1st generation MCW Metrobuses up until about 5 or 6 years ago, then went moaning to the press about spending £150k upgrading their fleet, which again they had been told they had to do to keep contracts, then losing some of their school runs due to council cuts. The runs in question were not ones the council had to provide by law due to the distance from the school. 

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13 minutes ago, Yoss said:

And that's how you lengthen an RM. Simple as that. Nice BEA RM in front. 

(dragging this over here so no one complains about text in the one shite picture per post thread)

indeed! although sadly that RM was being sectioned for some static display where the customer only wanted the back 25%! IIRC, (the RM people doing it where not happy about it, but its what the customer wanted sadly, so the people doing it made sure to do it so the maximum amount of bits etc could be salvaged from what I understand, so rather then just gas axe it  in half, they carefully deconstructed it)

but it does give a very neat "cross sectional" view of an RM tho :) a few pages back on that thread I also posted the rear view, which also looks quite neat

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indeed tis a very nice RMA in front, BEA1 in fact IIRC :) 

https://www.facebook.com/Routemaster-Restoration-106906932992719/

 

 

 

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On 11/27/2019 at 8:50 PM, clayts450 said:

This should be an interesting project - bloke bought a National for peanuts and is aiming to restore it. He's set up a FB group to chart his progress

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https://www.facebook.com/groups/544975109397506/

Happier times

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LCBS originally I'd guess.

Restoration may be easier than you think, there's going to be shed loads of panels, glass, seats etc available very shortly in a railway scrap yard near me, hopefully.

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I stumbled across some sort of vintage buses event in Reading today. It looked like they were doing laps of the town centre for punters. I'm pretty sure the Optare still belongs to Reading Buses (I believe the country's last municipal operator?) and every now and then they paint one of their modern fleet members like an E400 in the old livery. No idea what livery the VR is wearing.

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IMG_20191208_140436954_HDR.thumb.jpg.a449db9c80c2a983dfa895ccbfdf9411.jpg

IMG_20191208_144758645.thumb.jpg.3b6e557b27c3dfad866947c9f63a8bb2.jpg

 

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With the time ticking down to the big orange and white bird home, let's have some proper Spanish shite.

Let's start with this 1985 ex Berlin Waggon Union bodied MAN, one of a pair still running around Benidorm.

IMG_20191208_160230.thumb.jpg.d6cc56c918de7eee992468f6785b783f.jpg

Or for those that like more modern shite, as it'll never last 34 years, this lovely* new IV*CO, which I travelled on.

IMG_20191205_104631.thumb.jpg.0faa4d95839e147930fc009e2153724d.jpg

There automated manual box seemed as shite as usual.

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On 12/9/2019 at 9:23 PM, busmansholiday said:

The Reading VR (38) is in the old Reading Corporation livery and has a Northern Counties body. Alexander, East Lancs also bodied VR's.

Other than Reading, there's Blackpool, Nottingham, Cardiff, Newport at least still in "council" ownership.

Thanks @busmansholiday.  If we are counting Scotland as well there's also Lothian who AFAIK are still council owned. 

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